Saturday, June 13, 2015

An Exuberant "Hair"

"Hair" -- Playhouse on Park -- Thru July 19

The cast of "Hair." All photos by Tibor Zoller

Playhouse on Park has wisely chosen
to close out its fifth season with a show that will have audiences eager to
return next season. The show is George Ragni, James Rado and Galt Macdermot’s
“Hair,” the counter-culture sensation that opened on Broadway in 1968. A paean
to the hippie life-style as well as a protest against war (specifically the Viet Nam war),
the musical, under the astute direction of Sean Harris, is as relevant today as
it was half a century ago, and in this production, just as exciting.

The Playhouse’s relatively confined
space may seem, at first, to be a detriment to staging this sprawling musical,
but Harris’s direction and Darlene Zoller’s excellent, kinetic choreography
magically expand the experience – every square inch of stage is utilized, with
the action often flowing out into the house. And then there’s the cast.

The Playhouse seems able to regularly gather
together ensembles that are both exciting and professionally adept -- this
season’s ensemble for “Spelling Bee,” for example, was nominated for a
Connecticut Critics Circle award, and I wouldn’t be surprised if lightening
doesn’t strike twice.

Given the close proximity of
audience to actors, it is easy to see if anyone on-stage is phoning-in a
performance. No one does. Energy and electricity abound. Although, technically,
there are leads in the show – Ryan Connolly as Berger, Michael J. Walker as
Claude, Tara Novie as Sheila and Kristen Jeter as Dionne – this is truly a
collective effort.

Backed by a talented eight-member
orchestra that is housed in a cage stage-right by scenic designer Demaia
Cabrera (who also created the costumes), the cast moves through the familiar
score with an excellent feel for time and place – there’s anger, passion, youthful
exuberance and, underlying it all, a sense that the free-form, all-embracing
life-style may not be sustainable.

“Hair,” at least in its theatrical
form, is very light on story-line (the 1979 Milos Forman film made
additions/changes to provide a stronger sense of narrative). Thus, it is the
musical numbers – and their staging -- that
drive the evening, and although you may, at times, have difficulty hearing
exactly what is being sung (Joel Abbott’s sound is just a tad mushy and the
balance between single vocals and orchestration is often uneven), when you do
it is a compelling experience.

That experience is certainly
enhanced by Zoller’s choreography – it’s innovative and exciting and, given
that the cast is in almost constant motion, surprisingly non-repetitive. It’s
always difficult for an observer to know exactly who is responsible for the
creation of certain visual set-pieces ending in tableaux – director,
choreographer or both – but Harris and Zoller, working together, give the
audience some wonderful visual moments, not the least of which is the final
“funeral” scene as the cast sings “Let the Sun Shine In” – a moment that is
filled with anger, frustration and hope.

The evening speeds along,
punctuated by some truly memorable moments. Late in the first act, JosePlaza,
as the Margaret Mead character, stops the show with “My Conviction.” Not much
later, the entire cast moves through the pulsating “Hare Krishna/Be In” number,
enhanced by Aaron Hochheiser’s dramatic lighting design, a design that also
embellishes “The Trip” in the second act – a series of drug-driven dream
numbers that are a more than satisfying example of pacing and emotional build
to release in a musical.

Yes, you can go down to the Big
Apple to see and enjoy the multi-million-dollar productions, but for my money,
watching “Hair” at Playhouse on Park is more exciting. It took guts to put on
this show, and it could have failed in any number of ways, but it doesn’t. For
anyone who lived through the era of protest, assassinations and youthful
rebellion, “Hair” will be a reminder of how fraught -- and yet how compellingly
vital – that time was. For those who came on the scene later, this production
will not only be an emotional history lesson of sorts (do you know who LBJ
was?), it will also open some eyes: yes, Mom and Dad, or Grandma and Grandpa,
used to be sexually, emotionally and politically alive and passionately
committed! Of greatest importance, the evening will entertain on just about
every level. The Playhouse has a winner here, so there shouldn’t be an empty
seat throughout the entire run.

“Hair” runs through July 19. For
tickets or more information call 860-523-5900, X10, or go to www.playhouseonpark.org